No deep, wide thinking in government circles about renewable energy: ADB official

Asian Development Bank's Country Director Rune Stroem said on Monday that there was no deep and wide thinking in government circles about renewable energy despite availability of sufficient funds by the bank.
Speaking at a workshop on the development of medium-term renewable energy policy for Pakistan, organised by the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), he said that the ADB had provided 510 million dollars to Pakistan exclusively for renewable energy projects under which the first and second tranche development of hydro schemes in the NWFP and the Northern Areas were well under way.
He said that out of 510 million dollars, the ADB had released 400 million dollars, while for the remaining amount negotiations were under way and expected to be released in next few months.
He said that besides this, the ADB was providing significant assistance for upgrading Pakistan's electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure. The ADB has started major technical assistance projects in integrated energy modelling for developing a national energy efficiency, which would be followed by concessional financing of related investments by the bank, he said.
Appreciating the medium-term renewable energy policy development process, he said that it was an important step to establish a workable and attractive framework for future investments in this sector. Speaking on the occasion AEDB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arif Alauddin said that by elaborating its national policy approach, the off-grid renewable energy development for the medium-term future would be helpful to overcome the energy shortage.
The AEDB had planned to produce 5,000 MW energy within five to seven years, utilising renewable energy resources available, he said, adding this generation would certainly help meeting the current energy shortfall. The AEDB CEO said that several wind power projects would soon become operational, adding that they had initiated a thorough review of the AEDB's performance and operational strategy with a view to strengthening and developing its capabilities.
He said that the next phase of renewable energy policy and regulatory measures, to be adopted by the government, would be critical for the AEDB's success in meeting its own ambitious mandate of developing Pakistan's renewable energy industry.
He said that the government would fully endorse the policy recommendations discussed during the workshop, and added that the Board had been assigned by the government the target of producing five percent energy from renewable resources out of total power generation capacity..
He said that despite hurdles, several wind independent power producer (IPP) projects were expected to achieve financial assistance from the government, while some small hydro plants in the public sector had also been initiated with the ADB assistance.
He said that the proposed medium-term renewable energy policy was designed to replace the existing short-term one, which had been extended to 2009 to facilitate the projects close to achieving financing. The new policy would not only be for a longer duration, thereby providing more stability and a base for its effective evaluation, especially in countries such as Pakistan where renewable energy deployment was still in its nascent stages, he added.
The long-term targets defined by the consultants under the marginal cost optimisation analysis would require Pakistan to install 25 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year of renewable energy-based generation by 2020 or slightly more than 10 percent of the total generation capacity in that year. The stakeholders opined that the deployment of corresponding renewable energy capacity by 2020 would add roughly require 2.1 billion dollars per year.